11 years of "Cisco the Woo"

Cisco joined our pack (Nancy, Brad & Paco) in January of
1999. Cisco had a rough start to life - after being in a
negligent home as a puppy he had eventually arrived at
Bill Skinner's sleddog rescue in San Antonio, Texas.
He recuperated at Bill's for a while and then came to
join our pack as an affectionate but people-wary & confused
young boy.

Cisco quickly became an essential member of our family.
While still distrusting of strangers, he accepted all of
us and brought us into his sweet & loyal personality.
Through the 9 years both Paco and Cisco were with us,
the four of us did everything together. We would go to
restaurant & pub patios together, hike together, travel
& vacation together -
everything as a foursome. We noticed that people stopped using
the phrase "Paco and Cisco" and instead "Paco Cisco" was the
single name for our siberian companions.
As the years went by, Cisco started trusting more and more of
the human race until we got to the point where we could walk
down Main Street in Breckenridge and little kids (and adults)
would freely pet and stroke Cisco without concern. He truly was a
sweetheart with unfortunate early trauma in life.

In late May 2010, Cisco's well being began taking a rapid turn for the
worse: his body was "giving up" on him while his mind was
clearly confused on "why is this happening". June was a month
in decline - we all saw it, nobody could slow it down; Cisco
started to retreat from his everyday self. July 4, 2010 was
the last walk, longer than a couple of blocks, Cisco was able to
perform (we all walked to town to
watch the 4th of July parade).

July 17, 2010: Cisco's right
rear truly "gave up" on him and he was barely able to move.
It was time, we all knew it and Cisco left our lives later that day...

To those who knew him, Cisco became known as "Cisco the Woo"
for he had the prettiest siberian howl (a "woo") that he
would share with anybody who would listen - and, if you
weren't listening, he would change that!
The things he did and shared with us are endless, but
three help highlight who he was:

Swimming: Cisco spent his first 2 years with us in Austin -
not exactly a "husky place", especially in the summer. But,
Austin had Barton Springs: a freshwater spring that maintained
69 degree temperature, regardless of the outside sweltering heat.
Brad would hook Cisco's leash to his wrist and the 2 of them
would go swimming in the cool water for as long as their bodies
could keep afloat - a true way to stay cool in Austin!

Back rubs: From the time he was 2 years old, Cisco loved
back rubs. If you were sitting on the couch, he would come
"offer" his back to whichever hand he could find. Anyone would
instinctually & subconsciously start rubbing and he would melt against you,
eventually collapsing into a ball of "back rub mush" at your feet.

The policeman: in his later years, Cisco became the
policeman to the puppies. Any place Max and/or Zorro wanted
to play, Cisco would situate himself within range and woo at
any behavior that got "out of hand" - the perfect "puppy
policeman"!

Cisco: we are sorry your last 6 weeks were so painful, we
tried everything we could. You are safe now, free to frolic
in the heavens' snow with Paco. You meant everything to us
and we miss you terribly - "Paco Cisco" we will join you
again some day.